• Download Chapter 2, "The TTT Tickler: A Tic-Tac-Toe Player" and an excerpt from Chapter 3, "Building the TTT Tickler with the Original NXT Set"

It may look like one, but the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT set is not a toy.

Whether you've been building with the original LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT set for years or you just picked up a 2.0 set, you'll love this book. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Thinking Robots will show you how to build and program two robots that think. You'll be awestruck when the TTT Tickler ties you at tic-tac-toe and amazed when the One-Armed Wonder solves a Rubik's Cube in just a few minutes.

These robots aren't child's play. The models are challenging, and you'll have to do a bit of thinking yourself to get them to work. But once you get the hang of it, your efforts will be amply rewarded.

In addition to providing detailed instructions for building each model with either the original or the NXT 2.0 set, author Daniele Benedettelli takes you inside the robots to show you how they're designed, what makes them think, and how to use them. You'll learn how to:

• Control and calibrate your robots for best performance
• Dig into tic-tac-toe strategy to see how the TTT Tickler always plays to win
• Use the CubeSolver program to solve a Rubik's Cube with the One-Armed Wonder
• Better understand artificial intelligence as it relates to robotics, problem solving, and gaming

So go ahead, put on your thinking cap and get building!

Requirements: A computer running Microsoft Windows 2000 or higher, one complete LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT or NXT 2.0 set, a webcam, some marbles, a couple of rubber bands, and an Internet connection (to download the programs).